forest

The United States Forest Service (USFS) and California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) will be trading 1,961 acres under a proposed land swap on the north, south and west shores of Lake Tahoe. Urban lots would go to CTC and the larger parcels would go to the USFS.

The agencies will hold two meetings where the public will have the opportunity to review the plan and offer feedback.

Join the Tahoe Heritage Foundation and the U. S. Forest Service at Lake at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater on Friday, August 28 for a fun and educational presentation by Wild Things, Inc. Learn about the animals around the Lake Tahoe area with a LIVE animal presentation!

This live lecture is at Taylor Creek Visitor Center’s Lake the Sky Amphitheater at 7:00pm. It is open to the public and is a $5.00 donation to Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment Thursday against Jesus Gonzalez-Alvizo, 25, and Reimundo Arriaga-Arriaga, 37, residents of Mexico, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, manufacture of marijuana, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and depredation of public lands and resources.

More than 10,000 acres of scenic meadows, forests and trout streams in the Sierra Nevada 10 miles west of Lake Tahoe have been preserved in a deal in which environmentalists hope to prove that thinning out overgrown forests can increase California's water supply.

The Northern Sierra Partnership, an environmental group based in Palo Alto and founded by longtime Silicon Valley leaders Jim and Becky Morgan, joined with the Nature Conservancy and the American River Conservancy to buy the land for $10.1 million from Simorg West Forests, a timber company based in Atlanta.

There will be an escorted processional from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville on Thursday to honor 21-year-old Mikey Hallenbeck. The young U.S. Forest Service firefighter, and Sierra-at-Tahoe employee, died while fighting his very first fire on Saturday

The U.S. Forest Service and cooperating fire agencies will escort Hallenbeck from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe to his final resting place. The procession will start at approximately 10 a.m. and proceed westbound on Highway 50 up Echo Summit, through Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, down to Placerville. It is expected to end at 2 p.m.

Perched around a secluded campfire in the Rocky Mountains, Glenn Martin jerked forward, said, "Ow," and died. The wayward bullet that struck him in the national forest has campers and other users calling for changes in recreational shooting policy.

Martin, 60, died July 3 in the Pike & San Isabel National Forest, 30 miles southwest of Denver. The 3.1-million-acre forest holds the record for the most gun-related violations reported in the country, a review of federal records by the USA TODAY Media Network shows.

Join Tahoe Heritage Foundation and Tahoe Institute for Nature Science on Friday July 14 for "Birds of Lake Tahoe" and the "Tahoe Big Year." This event will be held at Taylor Creek Visitor Center at 8:00 p.m. and is open to the public. There is a $5.00 donation to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation.

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24, 2015. This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

Step back in time with a living celebration of the Roaring 20s at the Great Gatsby Festival at the Tallac Historic Site on August 8 and 9, 2015. The Tahoe Heritage Foundation and U.S. Forest Service is hosting this wonderful event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days, free admission for all ages.

July 17-Aug 23 Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: "Romeo and Juliet" @ Sand Harbor
July 29-Aug 02 Shayla Rivera / Pete Banachowski @ Improv at Harvey's
July 31-Aug 16 Lake Tahoe Summerfest classical music series @ Sierra Nevada College
July 31-Aug 01 Lisa Marie Johnston @ Moodys Bistro
Coburn Station @ Bar of America
August 01 Three Dog Night @ Montbleu
Robert Cray @ Harrah's
Forget the Roses @ Hard Rock Hotel
Drought Relief @ Heavenly Village
DJ Rick Gee / DJ Rockwell @ Peek Tahoe
Daze on the Green @ Cabo Wabo
JKC Band @ Steamers
Darren Senn @ 968 Park Hotel

Smokey Bear visited the new Forest Service firefighting aircraft "Super Scooper" at the Lake Tahoe Airport.

During the Kyburz Fire last week, the new addition to the Forest Service was able to drop 36,000 gallons of water at the front line of the fire, helping to keep it under 75 acres.

Each drop of the plane puts 1,600 gallons of water on the fire. The first load for the Kyburz Fire came out of Lake Tahoe, and the rest were from Union Valley Reservoir which was closest to the fire.

Open casting call in Lake Tahoe area!

My name is Kimberly Vela and I am producing an independent film called "Flounder."

This film follows a young boy as he escapes his unfit home and destructive parents. On his quest to find peace in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Isaiah meets interesting and loving characters including John Hudson, a kind-hearted father figure. This journey ends up taking him to the forest where he befriends a group of teenagers who have also run away from home for various reasons to live together as a group, striving on independence from adults.

The public is invited to the 16th annual Children's Environmental Science Day presented by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center on Sunday, August 2 at Commons Beach in Tahoe City. The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will continue until 3:30 p.m., with a free Mumbo Gumbo concert at 4:00 p.m.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently purchased new crew facility Station #22, which will act as quarters for the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew. The public is invited to tour the new facility and celebrate the Tahoe Douglas Zephyr Crew on Tuesday, July 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tahoe Chamber will officiate a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

On Monday, the U.S. Forest Service welcomed a Bombardier CL415 firefighting aircraft to the South Lake Tahoe. On Friday, it is already seeing action after being called out to the Kyburz Fire burning just west of Lake Tahoe.

Find out about the Batwa Pygmies from Uganda at the next meeting of the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra on Thursday, July 22 at 7:30 a.m.

Dr. Scott Kellerman is in South Lake Tahoe to share information about the work he, and the Kellerman Foundation, have been doing in Uganda. Kellerman and his wife Carol have been working to empower the Batwa pygmies to break the cycle of poverty and poor health since 2001.

The U.S. Forest Service will begin the first phase of their retrofitting of the Camp Richardson campground on July 21, something that has been in the planning stages since 2009.

During this first phase, they will remove approximately 250 trees in the campground on the north side of Highway 89. This portion of the project will last about two weeks. Work will be completed on this side of Highway 89 in October.

Phase two on the south side of Highway 89 is anticipated to begin in September 2015 and be finished by June 2016.

Whittell High School senior Daria Sharon was announced as the recipient for the seventh annual Gene Upshaw Scholarship Award at this year’s American Century Championship.

Her academic achievements and dedication to sports and community service made her the premier candidate to earn this scholarship, valued at $5,000.

With the passing of the 4th of July we find ourselves right in the middle of summer here in the Tahoe Basin. Locals and visitors alike recreating in many different ways, from camping to mountain biking, to boating, Lake Tahoe has something for everyone. This summer and particularly this summer due to continued drought conditions, it is important to remember just how fragile the Tahoe Basin is, and that there is a persistent threat of wildfire. Everyone needs to take steps to ensure they are being fire smart in everything they do. Doing the right thing, the wrong way can start a wildfire.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week at Angora Creek near South Lake Tahoe. Crews will construct 700 feet of new stream channel to replace the existing Angora Creek channel, which was rerouted and straightened in the early 1900s to accommodate livestock grazing. Seneca Pond, constructed in 1964 when the area was under private ownership, will be returned to a wetland.

This week, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency voiced its strong support for legislation to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act that has been introduced in Congress by Tahoe’s Senate delegation.

Sponsored by U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-Nevada) along with Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), and Barbara Boxer (D-California), the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act would authorize up to $415 million in federal funding over 10 years to help continue critical environmental restoration work at Lake Tahoe.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston made a presentation Tuesday, asking for an alteration to the Cal Tahoe JPA agreement for City provided ambulance services.

Meston wants the City to remain a part of the JPA, but hand over ambulance duties to Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD).

Beginning Saturday, July 4, the gondola at Heavenly Mountain Resort will open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 4:00. pm. This earlier schedule will be effective through the rest of their summer operations.

· The Guest Services and Ticket Offices at the base of the Gondola will be open from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
· All activities will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. This includes the Blue Streak and Hot Shot zip lines, the Discovery Forest, Black Bear, and Boulder Cove ropes courses, the climbing wall and tubing hill.

Cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity have allowed firefighters working on the Washington Fire to make good progress, getting a line around 66% of the fire area.

Burning since June 19 in the hilly terrain south of Markleville, the lightning caused fire has burned 17,790 acres.